P.O. Box 2068      Ormond Beach, FL 32175     (386) 677-7314

Terms of Sale
updated 20 August 2010

please read this page each time before ordering ANYTHING from us

Please don't get insulted or intimidated by our "no-nonsense style" or "attitude"
There is a very good reason for every speck of information on this page as 
we are really trying hard to avoid misunderstandings & misconceptions 
between ourselves and our (potential) customers. . . please feel free 
to email us if you have questions not specifically addressed here
AND if you have a question that you would feel better asking
someone in person please feel free to call Denny and talk
to the boss directly during business hours 10-7 Tue-Fri
NOTE:  We do not & will not accept phone orders

General Information:

Minimum order: $30.00

• All firearms actually manufactured after 1898 must be shipped via U.P.S. to a Federally licensed firearms dealer or C&R collector with a Class 03 FFL that is ALREADY ON FILE with us, with payment provided via credit-card.  We no longer ship anything C.O.D. or allow  anyone to inspect or pick up firearms in-person at our office (due to restrictive local ordinances). 
  
•  A dealer-FFL or C&R license MUST BE on-file with us ALREADY before we will accept any order for a SPECIFIC firearm 
• FFL's can now be FAXED to us at (386) 677-7324! Please be absolutely certain to [A] SIGN the copy first, and [B] use the FINE or SUPER-FINE setting on your FAX machine (NOT the PHOTO setting) so the FFL number and expiration-date is clear and legible when we receive it on our end. 
• We will also accept scanned and emailed copies of FFL's (sent to kroh@empirearms.com).
• It is a very good idea to send us a signed copy of your (or your local transfer dealer's) FFL in advance for our files to avoid missing out on the item you may want.  This is S.O.P. in the industry.

• For "tips" on finding a decent and affordable local dealer to transfer your firearm, click HERE.   
  Please do this NOW if you do not have your own FFL!

• All of our prices are FIRM but fair. If you feel you simply must haggle, please do so elsewhere!  That is and always has been the EMPIRE ARMS bottom-line.

EMPIRE ARMS are members in good standing of the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating
(click on the image above for confirmation)

• We do not "do" TRADES... we prefer to buy stuff (that we have personally seen) and sell stuff, but we don't trade stuff we know for other items we have not seen.  If the item in question was originally purchased from us and you have taken good care of it we will allow at least 80% of the purchase-price as payment for a higher-priced firearm (depending on our inventory needs at the time) and we will likely be interested in buying it back from you for 80% CASH as well.

• We ONLY deal in military firearms of the World (something that would have ACTUALLY been issued to a soldier of any country), so please don't offer us commercial guns (like shotguns or 22's) or ask us questions about them... we frankly don't know very much (or care) at all about commercially-made firearms.  Never have, never will.

• EMPIRE ARMS is CLOSED ON MONDAYS (this is when we try to get our book-work and errands caught-up) and from mid-day nearly every Friday through Sunday as we are usually away attending gun-shows around the country (or spending time with our families) on weekends.  We therefore (usually) only ship firearms orders Tuesday through Thursdays and ship accessory and book orders on Thursdays only.
  
• Click HERE for our complete up to date office schedule.
   
• We ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE that any firearm purchased from EMPIRE ARMS has authentic original markings and is correctly attributed and described.
• We will also REPURCHASE any firearm bought from us for AT LEAST 80% of what you paid as long as it is in the same condition and configuration as we sold it to you (and often much, much more depending, of course, on supply and demand at the time).

Ordering information:

We keep all of our web-pages totally up to date in "real time" and everything listed on them NOT marked as SOLD is most likely available for sale at this very minute. 

No other company on the internet does this!

• All items marked SOLD  have been paid for and shipped already.  We almost never get anything sent back (and our transactions very seldom "fall-through" either). 
   
• We will NOT accept an order for any individually-listed item (whether it requires a FFL or not) without immediate payment via Credit Card and a current FFL on file.  
  
• We will not HOLD anything pending arrival of paperwork or payment UNLESS that paperwork and/or payment is sent OVERNIGHT (via Express Mail, UPS Next Day Air, or Federal Express).  No exceptions!  Yes, we realize that is likely inconvenient for first-time orders, but once the FFL is on-file with us subsequent orders will be a breeze. The U.S. Post Office always takes longer than you think it will if you send paperwork to us via regular mail (allow at least a week).

• EMPIRE ARMS is VERY DIFFERENT than OTHER dealers in that
  we greatly prefer e-mail orders 
  as they are easier to keep track of, especially if we are out of the office (which frequently occurs, as due to the very nature of our business we MUST travel in order to purchase anything we offer for sale as we NEVER buy anything "blind" or based upon anyone else's opinions or photos).  Please phone us only if you have a question (or series of questions) that cannot be easily answered via e-mail, and THEN please send us your detailed order via e-mail, FAX or snail-mail confirmation.  We DO answer and confirm EVERY e-mail ORDER we receive ASAP, but it may take several days on occasion (especially if I am on the road buying really cool stuff) so please be patient. 
  
• We will CANCEL any order placed by e-mail from an invalid or bogus e-mail address or that has incomplete ordering information (what you want, who you are, where you live, and how you intend to pay must all be spelled-out every time).

• A PHONE ORDER ALONE (or one left on our answering machine) is NOT sufficient and WILL NOT be processed without physical confirmation via e-mail, FAX or letter.

• PLEASE DO NOT CALL US between 4 PM and 7 PM Eastern Time (no matter WHAT the reason) as we are always frantically busting our asses during this period making sure UPS gets the stuff everybody else ordered sent out to them in a timely manner. If you do call during that time you will be (politely, I hope) asked to call back later or (preferably) email your query.

• We prefer that you pay with a CREDIT CARD! We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and even Diner's Club cards (with no added "fee" or charge), and we usually will get your firearm purchase on its way to you within one or two business days (depending on workload). Accessory and book orders will only be shipped on Thursdays.  

• Get instructions on how to safely e-mail your credit-card information to us by clicking HERE

• We do NOT accept PayPal, as they have a anti-gun policy we find to be unreasonable and objectionable. Click HERE for details (scroll down the list to FIREARMS).  Also click HERE if you still think PayPal is a good thing. PAY-PAL SUCKS!
  
• We now have a shopping-cart system in place for books and (maybe soon) accessories, with secure ordering through an encrypted server. This also calculates approximate shipping-charges for you for these items (which do not require a FFL to order from us).

• When ORDERING an item by e-mail or FAX remember that the magic phrase "I WANT IT"
  gets priority over any other message. Please be very clear on WHICH item you desire, WHO you are, WHERE you live (we have many customers with the same name), and HOW you intend to close the deal.

some graphic examples:

ACCEPTABLE:  
"I WANT the Y2K number 12345 from your new list. I don't have an FFL but my buddy at BIG GUNS here in town has already sent you a copy of his FFL and I want to put this purchase on my VISA card XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX expires XX/XX. Thanks, Joe Blow, 678 Main St, Anywhere USA, phone (555) 987-6543"
or "You have my C&R FFL and credit-card number on file. Ship me one of those Finn target rifles that you just listed. Alphonse Capone, Chicago"

NOT ACCEPTABLE:
"I'm kinda interested in that there Enfield. Is it available? M.L."  
or the classic "I would take the Mauser if you answer a couple questions about it. Call me ASAP. Bob." (WHO are you? WHICH Mauser? HOW can we call when you left no phone number? Do you even REALIZE how common the name "Bob" is?)... sheesh!

Both of the latter not acceptable examples noted above are e-mails we have actually received in the past. If you send us such a message, nothing will be SOLD to you until we receive more information about you, which item SPECIFICALLY you want and a commitment to purchase it on your part (with payment and shipping details provided). You also stand a very good chance of "losing" that item to someone else in the interim while we are playing e-mail or phone "tag".

Also, realize up-front that WE DON'T *EVER* "HAGGLE" ON PRICES!  If you contact us trying to get a "better deal" on an item (or series of items) we offer for sale. . . even if you say "I WANT IT"  nothing will be set aside for you until you agree to purchase it in a timely manner at the price listed (PLUS actual shipping costs).  

We will ABSOLUTELY NOT consider counter-offers!

• When sending payment or a FFL in conjunction with an order PLEASE enclose a note indicating EXACTLY WHAT AND FOR WHOM THE PAYMENT IS FOR (this should be obvious, but we get money-orders "out of the blue" quite frequently with no name on them and we often have no idea what they are for or who they are from).
  
• We receive fifty to one hundred or more FFL's in the mail each day... if A NOTE WITH YOUR NAME AND WHAT YOU ARE ORDERING is not attached to your C&R or your transfer-dealer's FFL, there is almost no way we are going to know it is for your order and not just a routine copy for our files and a delay will certainly result and you may even LOSE that item to someone else.  Please also supply your phone number and (especially) your EMAIL address with your FFL. This should be obvious, since we prefer email correspondance.
  
• Please also make CERTAIN that the signed FFL photocopy you or your dealer mails us is legible (unfortunately quite a few of the ones we receive are hard to decipher, which can cause delays and, needless to say, confusion). Also be certain that the FFL is signed in INK and done so in the proper place (above the line under which is printed ORIGINAL SIGNATURE OF LICENSEE) otherwise it is not valid. 
• We do not do LAY-AWAYS, sorry, please don't ask (we don't have the room to store them).  However, we do accept Visa, MasterCard & Discover Cards with no fee (and you can pay THEM over time if you wish while enjoying your purchase). We also accept American Express and Diner's Club cards, but they usually require you to pay off everything at the end of each month... bummer!

• The UPS tracking # of your parcel will be supplied to you upon request (this is done automatically for all orders made via e-mail). We will need your e-mail address, however (if you FAX or MAIL your order, please remember to furnish your E-MAIL address as well).

• If you are not going to be home when the parcel is expected we can ship UPS HOLD FOR PICKUP but only if we have a daytime phone-number for you (and know this in advance).  
  
• We will NOT ship firearms to any address not specifically listed on your FFL.  We realize that this may be an inconvenience for those who work during the day, but you CAN change your "mailing address" on your license to your work address (in which case we will ship to you there after the change has been made). 
  
• If you re-route the package for your convenience (such as having UPS deliver it to your workplace because you are not home during the day) we will charge you $20 ADDITIONAL because we also get charged for all "address corrections" by UPS even though it is not our fault and beyond our control.
  
• All ordered but unclaimed items will become the property of Empire Arms after 90 days, whether paid for or not.

We ONLY ship our merchandise via
If that is not acceptable, please don't order from us.
We HAVE ALWAYS sent buyers an email containing UPS tracking info

Shipping and insurance charges:

We only charge *EXACTLY* whatever UPS charges us to ship an item from us to you.  We *NEVER* charge for "packing" or "handling" or for packing-materials.  

Below is APPROXIMATELY what charges will be incurred, however we will only charge you EXACTLY what we have to pay UPS (and not a penny more)

Note:  The rates below includes "ADULT SIGNATURE REQUIRED" which is required by Federal Law for shipments of all firearms (CFR 178.31d), which adds $2.75 to the basic shipping fee (and makes sense anyway, as nobody wants a firearm "dropped" off at your doorstep where anyone can walk off with it).

• HANDGUN SHIPPING: 

FIRST HANDGUN:
$25.00 via UPS SECOND DAY AIR

ADD $3.00 for RESIDENCE (as opposed to business) addresses
ADD $8.00 to the above for destinations West of the Mississippi (except Texas)

ADDITIONAL HANDGUNS:
$8.00 for second, $5.00 for each additional handgun in the same parcel.

• LONG ARM SHIPPING:

FIRST RIFLE:
$17.50 to business address, East of Mississippi
$21.00 to business address, West of Mississippi

$19.50 to residence address, East of Mississippi
$23.00 to residence address, West of Mississippi (except Texas)

ADDITIONAL RIFLES:
$9.00 for second, $7.00 for each additional in the same parcel (up to three in each parcel).

• ADD $30 additional per order for firearms delivery to Hawaii and Alaskan addresses (sorry, folks, but as you are aware no UPS ground delivery is available from us to you). 
  
• BOOKS & (soon) ACCESSORIES: Shipping on this stuff is approximated by our "shopping-cart" program. Minimum shipping: $5.00. If it turns out to be less than calculated by the shopping-cart program we will (obviously) charge you less. We ship books and accessory orders on Thursdays only.  
  
• A $20.00 service charge will apply after the sale if the customer requests that UPS re-route any parcel we ship to another address for delivery (we actually get financially penalized by UPS if you foolishly do that). 
  
• We no longer (since 2002) sell ammunition at all. 

Delivery times:

• How long does it take to get stuff from EMPIRE ARMS via UPS Ground?
  
   

Payment information:

• FULL PAYMENT must be made in advance by Credit Card (for firearms), Money Order or Personal Check (for non-firearms) before we will ship (2 weeks to clear only for those who do not have their personal or company dealer or C&R FFL on file with us).
  
  
  

  We do not do "lay-aways" at all! 
  Sorry, don't ask. This is not negotiable!
  
• Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and Diner's Club cards are also accepted (no surcharge). Get instructions on how to safely e-mail this information to us by clicking HERE. If ordering only books (and, one of these days, accessories) our shopping-cart program has an encrypted secure-server so you can email that info directly. Note that if you have ordered from us before, you can utilize the same card by mentioning in your message "please charge this to my credit-card on file". Note that this statement is required before we can use your card again for the current and next purchase.

Sales Tax:

• Florida residents must add applicable state and local sales tax unless purchased for resale and a signed copy of your resale certificate for 2010 is already on file with us. We are not (yet) required to collect sales tax for residents of other states besides Florida, so we don't.
   

Sales PROHIBITED or RESTRICTED (due to peculiar and usually idiotic state or local laws) to residents of the following states and locales:

• CALIFORNIA: No modern handguns sold to anyone, dealer or not (they must be C&R eligible). All C&R handguns *MUST* be shipped to a California Class 01 dealer. EMPIRE ARMS is a participating dealer with a CFLC ID # on file with the State of California and we are willing and able to ship to authorized CFLC FFL Dealers (the dealer must supply us with their CFLC ID# first). C&R rifles must actually be dated 1959 or before (or the manufacture of that model must have completely ceased before 1960) in order for us to sell & ship a rifle directly to a C&R licensee located in California (even if that firearm is specifically listed on the ATF C&R list). No rifle magazines over 10 rounds, and no CA-designated assault weapons (AR15's, AK's, etc) will be sold to anyone in California.
• DISTRICT of COLUMBIA: No sales of firearms, ammunition, or firearm magazines at all to anyone.
• ILLINOIS residents must supply us with a copy of their FOID card before we can ship them C&R firearms.  No firearms sales at all to residents of Chicago or Cook County.
• MARYLAND: No modern handguns sold to anyone, dealer or not (they must be C&R eligible). All rifles (except MD-defined "assault-weapons") are acceptable. 
• MASSACHUSETTS: No high-capacity magazines allowed. C&R licensees must supply us with a copy of their MA "License to Carry" (those can be FAXED or their image transmitted by email). The only handguns we can ship to a Class 1 (dealer) FFL to transfer to a non-licensee in Massachusetts must comply with THESE (2003) regulations.
• NEW JERSEY: All firearms including long-guns, antiques & all magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds must be shipped to dealers only. 
• NEW YORK: all concealable firearms must be shipped to dealers only.  All NY residents, whether C&R licensees or not, have to get each particular handgun added by serial-number to their NY handgun permit before purchase or transfer from in-state dealer can commence.   No modern (non-C&R) handguns can be shipped to anyone, dealer or not, in NY (they must be C&R eligible).  

Empire Arms GRADING standards:

• First off, we HANDPICK each and every firearm that we offer from the finest available anywhere (most come from private collections).  We never buy ANYTHING "blind" and absolutely do not buy junk (no matter how "cheap" it is).  Whatever you order from us will likely be MUCH better quality than you could obtain elsewhere as that is and always has been our goal.  Not braggin'... just a fact!

• We utilize "plain English" in our descriptions rather than endless words of praise, and try to be very fair and frank with our appraisal of condition.  We know that you don't like unpleasant surprises any more than we do (and we have had more than our share).  Over 90% of our customers think we actually undergrade our stuff, but we simply grade our stuff like we would like it graded if we were the buyers.  Our satisfaction-ratio is way over 99%, so we must be doing something right (unfortunately there are some very picky and anal people in this World with unrealistic expectations that cannot be satisfied no matter what).

• Virtually all military firearms we sell have been used for their intended purpose (otherwise they would not really be collectable or interesting), and therefore they should be expected to have some handling and storage marks on the wood and some wear on the blued parts from use.  If it is severe, we will say so... if it is perfect, we will mention that too. 
  
  Please don't get "scared away" if we graphically describe minor flaws like scratches or gouges... when put in writing it usually just makes them sound much worse than they really are.  Remember, virtually no other dealer mentions any possible flaws at all, so when we do we are just being honest.  Our photographs are of the actual item being offered for sale unless noted otherwise.

• We describe the metal-finish of our firearms by using a percentage system. 98% bluing means just that, but it also means about 2% of the bluing is NOT going to be perfect and may even be worn or faded (usually just on the corners and edges, and likely on the magazine floorplate from normal carry). 80% still means it's going to be quite nice, and 20% indicates that it's going to look like it is actually a military-surplus firearm. {;^>}

• We do not refinish anything that we sell, but we usually clean off the cosmoline, tape, filth, etc. before we ship it to you (unless you ask us not to). We also check the HEADSPACE of ALL rifles before we buy them and if the headspace is excessive (bolt closes on a "field" gauge) we will certainly mention it in the description if we buy it at all (we probably wouldn't buy it).

• Nearly everything we sell is properly import-marked according to current regulations, and if it is not import-marked then we will certainly mention it in the description.

• We do not warrantee the accuracy or shootability of any firearm, as a lot of that depends on your personal abilities.  We do guarantee that they will be properly attributed and described and complete in working condition unless noted otherwise, but that is all. Little mechanical faults such as "the decocker on my 70 year old pistol does not work perfectly" is to be expected with a firearm that is 70 years old. . .  

Returns:

• 3-day non-firing inspection period allowed (of course) from time of delivery to destination.  We very rarely get anything returned (much less than 1/10th of 1%).  
  
• Your satisfaction is guaranteed and greatly desired by us at EMPIRE ARMS!
  
• You may return anything ordered from us for any reason (or even none at all) as long as you get an authorization from us first within three days of delivery (we will refuse all unauthorized returns, and all requests for return after three days have passed since delivery by UPS to you or your transfer-dealer).   
  
• We will NOT accept the return of ANY weapon that has been fired or disassembled by the purchaser.
  
• We pride ourselves on the accuracy of our descriptions, so please read them thoroughly before ordering to avoid any confusion, and feel free to e-mail or (if you have a LOT of questions) call us with any specific questions you may have in order to avoid any potential problems or misunderstandings.
  
• A 3.5% restocking fee is charged for all returns refunded to a credit-card.  This is to recoup the fees charged to us by your credit-card company when you ordered the item (as we don't get those back when we run a credit through).
  
• If the item arrives at its destination DAMAGED, well... we certainly did NOT send it that way! No matter how well we package items (and we are damned good at it) delivery personnel can always find a new and novel way to break, crack or generally smash stuff up (this rarely happens, but it does happen every once in awhile). 
  Everything we ship is fully insured, so call UPS as soon as possible and lets get a claim started rather than ranting & raving at us about it.  This is what insurance is for.

Order Cancellations:

• We know that "stuff happens" occasionally and the funds one maybe thought they had or could "stretch" sometimes just doesn't co-operate. If you have to cancel an order you have placed with us before we have shipped it, we will try to be very understanding, ONCE!   Repeat offenders will be politely asked to go be a pain in somebody else's ass.   

  Antique guns & ammunition sales:

• We do not and WILL NOT ship *ANY* firearms (antique or not) outside of the continental United States.  (I know, we said that already, but not a week goes by when we don't get a firearm order from someone who lives in Canada or elsewhere)
  
• It is our policy not to sell pre-1899 Antique rifles or handguns to convicted felons, minors, fugitives from justice, illegal aliens, drug addicts, alcoholics, or mentally defective individuals.  By ordering such items from us you represent that you do not fit into any of those classifications.  If antique guns are shipped to you, you are responsible for complying with all applicable state and local laws (for instance, even antique firearms still require a FFL in the state of NJ).

Want Lists:

• We encourage you to let us know what specific items you are looking for, and we are EXPERTS at finding hard to find stuff. Click HERE for the online form and clear instructions on how to do this.  This is an EXCLUSIVE SERVICE of Empire Arms!

Buying:

• We are VERY AGGRESSIVE BUYERS and will generally pay more for nicer uncommon military firearms than any other dealer (and will most likely pay more than you could obtain for it even if you worked real hard at it).  We have a very strong following and maintain want-lists of literally hundreds of items that our customers are seeking.  If you have some items in our field of interest that you are tired of or no longer utilize regularly, please ship them for our generous offer. If our offer is not acceptable, we will return the items to you immediately at our expense.

Exclusive EMPIRE ARMS BUYBACK policy:

• We WANT to buy back any item originally purchased from Empire Arms. We will pay AT LEAST 80% of the original purchase price (and sometimes much, much more depending on the item) to the original purchaser as long as the item is in the same condition as purchased. 

Our PRIVACY POLICY:

• Any information you supply to EMPIRE ARMS is kept both secure and confidential. We will not sell, rent or supply *ANY* information about our customers to anyone, period.

MOST IMPORTANT!

  We have an E-MAILING LIST  which will get you all new items we acquire (as well as much other useful information not available elsewhere), e-mailed to you 24 hours in ADVANCE of the general public.  To sign up, click HERE

  Now that you are finished reading our Terms of Sale, hopefully you now have a rather clear understanding of what you can expect from us and what we do expect of you, so click your browser's <BACK> button to go back to where you were or ...

Go back to the Empire Arms Home Page    

P.O. Box 2068       Ormond Beach, FL 32175       (386) 677-7314

For ORDERS, comments or suggestions, email us at kroh@empirearms.com  

 

All above content copyright © 1993-2010 by Dennis Kroh, all rights reserved